The Encounter
by Meagan Snow
Summary: Artemis has a new plan. If none of the fairies had ever existed, what would Artemis do? Turns out, pretty much the same thing...   And if his long-lost twin sister came into the picture? Uh-oh.
1. Trapped!

**I know, you guys want me to update my other stories, but I just had this idea...! Don't kill me, please... You might just enjoy this...**

**This is Book 1 for Artemis, and before Sonic's birthday for him. Holly never happened. Neither did the fairies. **

Chapter 1: Trapped!

_Day 0_

It was the blackest part of night. Butler and Artemis hunkered down in their tent. Butler longed to say something, to whistle, to make some noise to break the terrible silence, but he knew that Artemis would not have it. The child genius needed absolute concentration.

Now was the time to spring the trap. They had obtained information about his whereabouts from a cat, of all things. A cat named Blaze. They had managed to convince her that they were on his side. Butler still found himself struggling to believe this was all true. But Artemis had the plan worked out in entirety. Yes, Master Artemis always had a plan.

Butler could hear him in the distance now, the patter of feet, running impossibly fast. He crouched, his stance stealthy but ready to spring into action, a large canvas sack in hand. Artemis had planned to prey on the individual's cockiness and pride, and Butler had absolute confidence it would work.

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Sonic dashed across the darkened countryside. He had to run, run, run off some of that nervous energy. It was two days before was the Day. The Day that would change it all. And tomorrow was the day he announced his plan.

His birthday. He had promised to finally make peace with Eggman for his 'Sweet 16.' And Eggman had promised to put a stop to his crazy schemes.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt his foot make contact with a trip wire. Eggman! He knew he wouldn't come through. Reacting instantly at his loss of balance, he rolled safely out of the way as a large iron cage dropped from a tree.

"Ha" he began his signature taunt, looking into the tree, convinced that that was where Eggman's robotic toady was hidden. "Too slo-"

He was cut off abruptly by the sack that had been thrown over his head, and tied off at the bottom as he felt something- or someone- lift the sack.  
>"Hey! Lemme outta here!" he shouted, but to no effect. And his thrashing around seemed to have only one effect: a monstrously large hand, a human hand, reached inside, groped around for his arm, and applied a sedative patch. Sonic ripped it off, but it was too late. He could already feel his eyelids drooping…<p>

Just before he drifted off, he heard an icy cold human voice say: "Not so slow, am I now, Sonic the Hedgehog?"

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Artemis had no qualms about what he had just done. The sedative patch would wear off in eleven hours and thirty minutes, plus minus two minutes, taking into consideration his captive's accelerated metabolism and proportionally large body mass, leaving no lasting effects. The mixture inside was of his own concoction, the dose precise to the thousandth of a milliliter. His captive had behaved exactly as predicted.

The lie he had concocted to Blaze had been without flaws. He had simply explained to her that her friend had contracted a rare virus, of which he himself did not know, and that if he evaded out capture long enough he would die. And just to make sure, as he thanked her, shaking her…paw, he had injected a mild drug that would leave her memory of the past few days so scrambled that she would be lucky to recall the color of the sky.

He allowed himself a smile of satisfaction as he boarded the rental Jeep. Nothing could go wrong.

**Review? I have... uh... Oh! I know! Chocolate Chip Sundaes!  
>Oh! And next chapter, you get introduced to someone special...<strong>

**Artemis: Why? This is humiliating. She is humiliating.**

**Me: Artemis! No hints to the readers!**

**Arty: That is disappointing...**

**Apollo: Heya!**

**Me: No! Nonono... this isn't your scene yet! GET OFF MY KEYBOARD... AND NO HACKING, ARTEMIS, OR I'LL TELL MINERVA-**

**Arty: Shut up! *turns pink***

**Apollo: Tell her what?**

**Me/Arty: NOTHING! **

**Me: -cough- C'mon, review, guys?**


	2. Apollo

**Thanks to the five people who read this chapter :)  
><strong>**Anyway, guys, I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed. Being Artemis is really hard for me, as well as trying to folllow Eoin Colfer's style of writing while keeping Sonic true to his character, especially since I have read most of the books in Polish... So tell me if you like it. Any direct quotes from the books (as in the last chapter, the first part of Butler's POV) are _roughly translated. _Just to be straight, right off. **

**Oh, and by the way: No matter how much I love him, I don't own Artemis Fowl. If I did, I'd have Minerva come back and Artemis _not_ get the Atlantis Complex.  
>I don't own Sonic, either, or pretty much anyone but Apollo Phoebe Lux. <strong>

Chapter 2: Apollo

_Day 1 _

Eleven hours and thirty-one minutes later, Sonic awoke with a start and looked around his surroundings. He was in a dim cell about five by seven yards. No windows. The concrete had not a crack. In fact, it looked freshly poured.

No. NO. Every fiber in his body hated this. All he wanted to do, instinctively, was to throw himself at the nearest wall, searching for weak spots, for a… door… Why wasn't there a door? How could he have gotten in without a door?

Mustering all his self-control, he remained in his seat, instead searching his cell visually. The small amount of light there was seemed to be coming from the corners of the ceiling of the cell. When he looked closer, he noticed a small lightbulb in each one. That might have been hope, since they seemed to be attached to the wall, and so it may have been weaker there… if he ever did learn to jump nine feet in the air. The walls were perfectly smooth, so he couldn't just run up there.

Why? That was the one question circulating in his beleaguered mind. Why would anyone want to lock him up so badly, he'd accost him in the middle of the night? He knew it wasn't the police, they didn't act this way, and Eggman wouldn't lock him up like this. It just wasn't… fair! He refused to give whoever might be watching any reason to think he was breaking down and giving in. He never gave in. He couldn't, wouldn't give in. He sat up straighter and searched the room for a video camera. Finding none, he allowed himself to put his head in his hands and slump there, unmoving.

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Artemis felt a small twinge of guilt, seeing how strongly imprisonment had affected his captive. The room was designed to look like a sort of tomb, with the door sliding out to open, so the hinges were nearly invisible. The camera was hidden in a lightbulb, with adjustments designed by Artemis himself to compensate for the light difference. In theory, perfect psychology. In action, it made Artemis feel… evil. He wasn't evil, he reminded himself. This was all going to save his father. His captive's- he refused to call him by name, that would make him seem like a real person- morale for his father. An obvious choice.

He was about to contact his captive when a knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts. A look of annoyance briefly crossing his face, he got up and began to walk toward the door, on the other side of the ground floor. Inconvenient, yet it kept most people from distracting Artemis when he was at work. He vaguely wondered who it might be, opening the door. Whoever it was must have gotten past the security alarms, and that was a feat.

As soon as he opened the door, he heard a squeal of "ARTEMIS!" and he was tackled by a blur of long black hair. Butler's hand tightened on his Sig Sauer. When the girl- for it was a girl- released him, Artemis had an opportunity to study her face while she rambled on.

"Oh, my gosh! It is _so_ great to finally meet you! You must be wondering who I am. I'm Phoebe. Anyway, I saw a picture of you and decided you looked _so_ much like me I had to meet you!"

She had the same dark sapphire eyes as he and the raven hair, too, along with the whole general Fowl family resemblance. He furrowed his brow, an unusually explicit sign of emotion from Artemis, and finally spoke, his thoughts in turmoil:

"First of all, if you will not be quiet, I will have Butler tranquilize you. Also, I believe you may be part of the extended Fowl family, as you bear a similar semblance. Pardon me, what did you say your name was?"

"Apollo Phoebe Lux," she replied enthusiastically. "Though I just go by Phoebe. 'Cause, ya know, Apollo is a guy's name. Isn't Artemis a girl name? Oh, well, says the girl named Apollo…" she babbled until Artemis cut her off.

"Yes. Phoebe, then. Allow me to take you to my office, so I can test your DNA sequence. Perhaps, you may be… never mind. Let us go." His mind swirled. Was it possible? The odds were so small. And yet, there she was. Maybe it was simply a coincidence, but Artemis didn't believe in coincidences. Logic told him she couldn't be _that_ Apollo Fowl. But there she was. The twin archer god.

He started toward his office, Phoebe at his heels, babbling incessantly.

**Thanks for reading :) **

**By the way, I have never actually played or watched Sonic. All I know is off of YouTube and the wikia. And my brother Nicky. His own little wikia. **

**So I know a billion tiny facts (like he's clocked in at an average speed of 768 miles an hour, but his top speed has never been actuallly measured. It is possible he can travel at the speed of light, as he is shown traveling in time) but I do my best to keep him IC-as directed by Nicky.**

**And I am the ultimate Artemis Fowl geek. I know pretty much every little tiny fact about the boy genius and his accomplices. Ask and I shall tell!**

**So, the random AF fact for this chapter:**

**Holly and Trouble actually went on a date together, as referenced by Foaly on page 251 and 252 of Book 7, the Atlantis Complex.**


	3. Sister?

**Sorry I keep changing around Sonic's birthday. It is now going to be Day 3. **

**Anyway, c'mon, please review if you read this! It means a lot to me and even though I have so many ideas I update more than planned, I would like some feedback about Artemis and Apollo, and even Sonic, you know...**

Chapter 3: Sister?

_Day 1, continued_

Artemis and the girl, Phoebe, reached the lab. After instructing Butler curtly to do the standard blood test and bring him the result, he turned to go to the computer room. He would have to contact the captive to tell him his plan, at the same time crushing his hopes entirely. He pulled up the video call button and made sure his captive would be watching.

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Sonic looked up as he heard a blip. A television screen, hidden in the wall, had sprung to life. On the picture, there was a human child, no more than eleven years old. But he was unlike any human child he had ever seen, with sickly pale skin, raven hair, and wearing a suit.

He straightened up, a small smile appearing on his face. Maybe he could barter with this child! Even if he wasn't the one in authority, he maybe could convince the true heads to let him free.

When the boy spoke, all his hopes were dashed. It was the same icy voice he had heard before he passed out. In place of hope, anger arose.

"So" he began. "I assume you are comfortable?"

The nerve! With his aroused anger, all his fears, his pain at being locked up vanished for the time being.

"Comfortable? _Comfortable?_ Do you have any idea what it's like in here? No door. No windows. And no space to run!" he said, his voice cracking imperceptibly at the last phrase, his anger dissipating, leaving him with hopelessness. It only then occurred to his beleaguered mind that this, this _child_ may have put him in there on purpose, knowing it would affect him like this.

"I assumed so" the boy smirked. Now, you're probably wondering why I put you in there. The answer is simple. _Aurum potestas est._ Gold is power. You have the ability to earn me more gold than any other single entity. Now, what I want is simple. You have two choices. Sit in this cell and rot. Or, go out, run, and bring me the Seven Chaos Emeralds. Your pick."

"Never!" he shouted right away. He would never bring this human the Seven Chaos Emeralds. He had fought for them far too many times to give them to this… this ape! And yet, stay in this tomb or go out and run… it was tempting. But he wouldn't be truly free. No, he would have to find another way.

"Your pick" the human shrugged, as if he couldn't care less. As he pressed the 'shut off' button, he said one more thing. "And, if you were wondering, my name is Artemis Fowl."

And despite all his reasoning, Sonic still felt empty when the television flicked off and left him alone in the cell.

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

As Butler turned around to do the test on her blood, Phoebe ran behind his back and dashed into the computer room. She didn't want to spend one more second in that gloomy laboratory.

As she rounded on Artemis, she noticed something on one of the screens, still standing behind his back so he wouldn't notice her. It showed an individual, trapped in a cell, with his head in his hands and clearly in distress.

"Artemis" she said, completely serious for the first time since she entered the Manor. "Who is this?"

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Artemis jumped. The voice that had spoken sounded so much like his mum's that he was almost led to believe it was her behind him. But when he looked, it was only Phoebe. Uncanny. And yet, if what he suspected was true- and it usually was- she would have had ample reason to sound like Angeline.

Ignoring her question, Artemis called over his shoulder, "Butler? Are you nearly done?"

The huge manservant walked out of the lab, results in hand. He handed them to his charge without a word. Artemis looked at the printout. The results only confirmed his hypothesis. Her DNA was 98.5% identical to his. Turning to face Phoebe, he then answered her question.

"Only a psychology project, Phoebe." Her eyes grew round, and then narrowed again.

"No, it's not." She said. "You're lying."

It was Artemis' turn to be surprised. Nobody had ever caught him lying before, except maybe Angeline.

"How did you know?" he demanded. She shrugged.

"It's like… weird. Like I just knew, with you." Artemis nodded. He felt the same thing, knowing she was telling the truth.

"Yes, identical twins often have a similar connection. Because I once had a sister… Apollo Fowl."

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Phoebe shook her head. She knew he was being sincere, but that was silly. "Not possible. I am Apollo Phoebe Lux, daughter of Phoebe and Finnigan Lux. I was born September the First of 2001, at Mission Hospital."

Artemis shook his head. "You were born the exact day as I was. I had a sister, when I was small. But one day, we left you at home, with only my… _our_ father to watch over you. You were three. He was busy in his office, as usual. When we came home, no Apollo to be found. We called the police, but they never found you."

She shook her head, still skeptical. "All right, let's say what you told me is true. I still refuse to be called Apollo, though. You still haven't explained to me what that… person is doing locked up in your basement, or I'll call the police." Because he, clearly a he, was undoubtedly a person, only not human. And what with her reality being turned upside down, riding a train halfway across England to reach the airport to take a plane to Fowl Manor, non-humans weren't really high on her priorities list, especially since she had always been an ardent believer in aliens.

He sighed deeply and began, knowing apparently that he wouldn't shake her (she was at least as stubborn as he was) began: "My… our father disappeared nearly two years ago, when our ship, the _Fowl Star_, was sunk, taking a considerable part of our fortune with him. And _aurum potestas est_. Gold is power. The Red Cross declared him legally dead last year, but I know he's still alive, somewhere, somehow. I spent extravagant amounts of money on the search, but it was never enough. Now, I'm sure you've heard of Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Sonic the Hedgehog is a faerie tale." Phoebe pointed out.

"Sonic the Hedgehog is locked up downstairs. Now, please" he said, playing a new card. "Please don't try to stop me. I won't hurt him. I only want him to give me the Seven Chaos Emeralds, and then I'll free him. I can use them to further fund the search for my father."

Phoebe nodded. "This is sick, Artemis. Sick. But I can't say I blame you. I'd do anything if my dad disappeared. Just… Just…" she said. "Don't push it."

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Artemis inwardly grinned with glee, but only nodded meekly on the outside. He was playing off her human compassion, and it was working, as his plans usually did. Assimilating the role of compassionate, hospitable brother, he led her to the guest room, where he showed her where to put everything himself. even putting up with her incessant yammering.

Normally, all this would have made him feel sick at himself, but here it felt… right. He had to remind himself that this was just a mask, donned so that Apollo wouldn't interfere in his plan. Which, according to calculations, may take longer than he thought, unless something special happened...

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Something in between? I'd really love it if you let me know. Please review!**

**Fun AF fact: Artemis' irrational fear of the number four is classified as _tetraphobia_, which literally translates to "four-phobia". It is common in China and the surrounding countries, where the word for "four" is similar to the word for "death". Just like we will often not have a 13th floor here, in a hotel or an office, they will oftentimes not have a 4th floor there.**


	4. The Final Straw

**Here it finally is! Thanks to my first and only reviewer, the one and only ZehHyperactiveAuthor! ~cheers all around~**

**Anyway, lots of twists here... ~evil cackle~**

_Day 2_

Apollo woke up in her room, and sat up, taking a minute to realize where she was. There had been no more of the weird dreams tonight. That was good.

She felt a pang of guilt at not having told Artemis everything. But then she remembered how quickly he had warmed to her and realized she wasn't the only one keeping secrets.

Ever since she could remember, she had had dreams. Dreams of herself. Of a boy with her face. Of herself, splitting into two, then changing into an identical pair in hunters' outfits, in that she was the boy and he the girl.

So when her mother showed her the picture of Artemis she had found in the paper, Phoebe was so freaked out she had to see him. Of course, an entrance was mandatory. Just for the fun of it, and the expression on his face. Stripping off the nightgown he had given her, she changed back into the tee and jeans she had worn yesterday, before flopping back down on her bed, sprawled in an X-shape. Her first good night of sleep in a long time, and she didn't want to get out of bed a little bit longer. _Just a few more minutes_, she thought, as her eyelids drooped.

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Sonic shivered in his cell, his resolve still somewhat firm. And yet, it had weakened when, the previous night, the boy had come down with a meager meal, which might have partially satisfied Chip, but not Sonic. He had tried to make a run for it, only to be caught by a gigantic human who had been blocking the passageway and had carried him back to his cell as if he had been no more than a kitten. He wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. Thinking was en effort in his muddled mind. He had been sitting slumped on the bed, staring blankly at the wall, drained of energy, since. He felt hollow, although he knew he had done the right thing. His head spun, and he realized that the food must have been drugged as he slumped at the wall, unconscious.

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

Artemis felt satisfied with himself. He had given the prisoner a slow-acting drug that would keep him down for close to fourteen hours or so. He would tell Phoebe the captive was merely sleeping. He didn't know why the actions of this girl were so important to him, as well as her opinion of him, but he brushed it off as knowing that, as his sister, she must have above-average intelligence- if not that like his own, as proven by her falling for his rather obvious ploy.

Standing up from his chair, he walked the guest room, which Phoebe was currently occupying, and opened the door, looking inside. Appraising that she was asleep and would remain so until noon at least, he headed downstairs to where he was sure Butler had made breakfast. He was not disappointed- Butler had just served.

Once he had finished, he next headed to his study to complete the tests taken from Apollo's DNA. Her personality was adverse to his own, but he was convinced that may have been the result of nature versus nurture.

Several hours of intensified work later, Artemis put away the lab equipment he had been using. There was no doubt now that he and Apollo were identical twins. Her fingerprints had been a match to those taken from Angeline and Artemis herself, and the shape of her face and the build of her body only confirmed his resolution.

ɤ-ɤ-ɤ

_Day 2, evening._

Apollo walked into the study of the boy she had come to believe was her brother. _Study_, she thought in disbelief. _What normal kid has a study?_

"Hey, Artemis!" she said, walking up behind him. "What'cha working on?" she asked, peering over his shoulder.

Her face slackened when she saw what he held in his hands. Those vials, they looked like… Sleep inducers?  
>"Tell me that's not what I think it is." She said, her voice going cold. She was normally pretty easygoing but this time, Artemis had totally crossed the Line.<p>

"Apollo! I didn't hear you." Artemis said, fully aware that she realized what he was doing. "I have been having insomnia lately, and I have decided to-"

"Yeah, not in doses like that." Apollo spat, grabbing the vial he was holding and holding it up. "But this happens to certainly be enough to drug, say, a prisoner we do not want to realize what we are up to, isn't it!" she continued shouting, smashing the vial against a wall. "I let it be before, because you said you would not hurt him and release him soon."

"I said no such thing." Artemis corrected her coolly. "I said I would not _physically_ hurt it. And that I would free it once it gave me what I wanted. I said nothing about 'soon.'"

Apollo felt she could have strangled Artemis then and there. Not had he lied to her, he did it without telling a single lie. "This is insane, Artemis. He is a living person as much as any of us. You. Me. Go ahead and try to stop me, I'm not gonna stand here without doing anything!"

After shouting at Artemis, she stormed out of the room, heading straight for the basement when she was caught like a stray kitten by Butler.

"What Master Artemis does is wrong," he growled toward her, "but you have no way to stop him."

Apollo struggled and kicked, but to no avail. Butler didn't seem to feel any of her blows. He was like a bulldog, wouldn't release her even after he died. If she could actually cause him any harm. She could, however, do one thing…

"Doesn't matter what you do to me" she smirked triumphantly. "I planted a special surprise in Artemis' office." In reality it was only a flour bomb, meant to coat the room with the stuff but nothing more. She had planted it this morning when Artemis had snapped at her to get off of his laptop. She was just checking Facebook, jeez.

However, her words had had their intended effect. Butler dropped her and ran to Artemis' office, convinced that she was insane. Apollo scrambled to her feet and dashed downstairs to the basement, but was faced with several layers of security. _Crap. Might have known he'd have security_.

She stepped onto a weight checking plate, and spoke into the voice analyzer.  
>"Artemis Fowl." She said coldly, her heart thumping. She didn't have the time for this!<p>

The door slid open to reveal a comparatively old-fashioned pin code-secured door.

"Oh-nine-oh-one-oh-one" she entered their shared birth date, praying it would work.

It did. The door slid open to reveal an unconscious Sonic slumped against the wall of the cell.

"Wake up!" she shouted, shaking his shoulders firmly. "I'm bailing you out."

**What do you think? Should they get away with it? Or should they get locked up... together?  
>I'm setting up a vote! Once I get five reviewsPMs/votes on my profile poll for either option, I'll post up the next chapter.  
>But if by say Halloween I don't get five per side I'll take what I got the closest of. If it's a tie I'll make up my own ending with a bit of both. Faire? XD<strong>

**Random AF Fact: Artemis' birthday is actually September the First, as referenced by Butler at the end of Book 5.**


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